While the focus at the moment is on the last few players Ohio State hopes to attract to round out its 2013 recruiting class, those who were among the original commitments are almost afterthoughts.

Evan Lisle, for example, was the fifth to commit to coach Urban Meyer’s first complete class, way back last February. Does the offensive lineman from Centerville, Ohio, feel forgotten?

“Not really,” Lisle said. “I went on my official visit last weekend, and I really felt like I was part of the scene. I was up there talking to coaches, getting to know the players, talking to my fellow commits.”

He said he feels that he will be part of a special group, which at the moment stands at 19 commitments.

“It’s definitely a strong class, and I think the strength of it seems to be that we have everything,” Lisle said. “We have the linemen. We have the skill. We have the speed. We have the strength. It’s a terrific class, and the guys, we all get along very well.”

They don’t yet have any true linebackers, however. But his visit, Lisle mingled with highly touted Mike Mitchell of Plano, Texas, a player the Buckeyes have long targeted and the likes of which they need to fill an apparent void in the linebacking corps.

“I met him, Billy Price (an early defensive line commitment from Austintown Fitch), and I spent a lot of time with him,” Lisle said. “He’s a good guy, and I hope he becomes a Buckeye.”

Lisle has had good vibes about the class since committing almost 10 months ago. In the meantime, he thinks he has improved as a player just in anticipation.

“I’ve put on a lot of weight, I am up to 290 now, and I have gotten stronger and faster,” Lisle said. “I am doing what the coaches asked me to do. I am just ready to get there and try to make a difference.”

He won’t be among the handful of recruits from his class who enroll in January, though; Lisle plans to finish his senior year of high school. But he will get the chance to play with several of them in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 5 in San Antonio.

OSU commitments joining him on the East squad are cornerback Eli Woodard of Voorhees, N.J.; defensive tackle Michael Hill of Pendleton, S.C.; and kicker/punter Johnny Townsend of Orlando, Fla. Running back Ezekiel Elliott of St. Louis will be on the West team, as will Mitchell.

But getting to play in that game was going to be special for Lisle even without future Buckeyes at his side. His father, Steve, went to West Point and served in the Army afterward in the artillery before beginning a career as a civil engineer. And Evan’s older brother, Nick, currently is in Army boot camp.

“This means a lot to my family ” Evan said. “It is such a huge honor to not only be selected as one of the top 90 players in the country, but to also represent the U.S. Army.”

Then it will be on to Ohio State in the summer as part of the first class completely recruited by Meyer and his coaching staff, who took over last winter.

“There are extremely high expectations, and we all know that,” Lisle said. “He brought in a class last season, all of whom he didn’t recruit, and he took them to 12-0. Now we’re his first full class.

“So, like I said, the expectations are high, but that’s what is going to make it an exciting time.”